Dear Mr. Smithee: For me, 2007 has been the worst year in the worst decade for movies. I have liked "Zodiac," "Breach," "La Vie En Rose," "3:10 to Yuma," "Into the Wild." But even they can't compete with movies of years ago, such as "L.A. Confidential," "Moonstruck," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "The Bridge on the River Kwai," etc.
Seems to me movies have become an entirely different genre of entertainment. What's your take?
LON CROSS, MINNEAPOLIS
Dear Chill Pill: Trust me, the year's not over and the cinematic sun is rising. There are excellent movies afoot. For instance, "Atonement," which opened last week. If you've been astute, in recent days you, like me, have enjoyed the virtues of "No Country for Old Men" and "Lars and the Real Girl."
Coming soon is the astonishing French drama "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." It relates the true story of a French magazine editor who, after a stroke, is paralyzed everywhere except his left eye. He learns to communicate by blinking. You know, "My Left Eye."
That's not exactly ho, ho, ho, I know. But to my mind it's probably every bit as good as the films you mentioned.
I also admire "Juno" (opened Friday), "Starting Out in the Evening" (opened Friday), which has Frank Langella's best film work to date, and "The Savages" (Dec. 25). Coming in January will be Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," with a terrific performance by Daniel Day-Lewis; I've also heard excellent things about two films I have yet to see -- the Spanish "The Orphanage" (Jan. 11) and Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream" (Jan. 4).
Lon, I will agree that overall movies have become a different form of entertainment. We've seen the erosion of story and the heavy emphasis on young male tastes. Frankly, there aren't as many great movies now.
